♪♫♪ Noel, Noel ♪♫♪

Well, I'm back with one last finish for 2024--and it's probably my biggest! May I present the lovely "Noel Sampler" by With Thy Needle and Thread. Now, I'm not much of a sampler stitcher, but this one really caught my eye with that beautiful red house, the noble looking deer, and the tiny figures. It is stitched on 40 ct. porcelain Newcastle linen with most of the suggested threads. I love that this piece used only DMC threads! I did darken up some of the snowflakes and made a few of the letters either darker or lighter than charted so they would show up better on my chosen linen. 

"Noel Sampler" designed by With Thy Needle and Thread

Don't you love a nice red house at Christmas time?

The main change I made to this finish, was to stitch an entire family down at the bottom left instead of just a man and woman. I chose to stitch three little boys instead of the trees that were charted to represent my three sons. No, they're not triplets--I just made them the same size because it was easier :) Today, as young men of 42, 39, and 36, they are all about the same height with my middle son being just a bit taller than his brothers. I did give them hair color to represent each, though--the oldest has the darkest hair, the middle the lightest, and the youngest has hair in a nice shade of brown.  I also chose to stitch our dear all black cat, Shadow, instead of the dog that was charted. Shadow was my sons' steadfast companion for 14 years and such an integral part of our daily lives and holidays. He was a huge guy weighing in at 20 pounds--not overweight, just giant! The veterinarian once told me he could double as a black panther if anyone was making a movie.

My little family. I was the only girl--even the cat was male!

Below is a collage of three photos from the early 1990s  of my three boys with their beloved Shadow cat. 

Such wonderful memories of Christmas in the early '90s!

I truly love how this sampler turned out and hope to have it professionally framed. It may actually stay up on my wall year-round... We'll see! Do any of you leave out Christmas stitching all year? It seems a shame to put these big pieces away for eleven months of the year after all that hard work. 

As you know, this was the year of my plan to stitch some larger pieces for Christmas in addition to the small ornaments that I'm usually sharing with you. I'm happy to say that I finished five larger pieces this year! Would you like a recap? If you'd like more information on what fabric or threads were used, just click on the title for each one.

"REINDEER GAMES"

In April, I finished "Reindeer Games" by Erica Michaels. Such a fun and unique design!

"CHRISTMAS IS COMING"

In May, I completed "Christmas is Coming" by Shakespeare's Peddler. I just love stitching words so this one was a real treat.

"SANTA STOPS HERE"

August brought the darling "Santa Stops Here" by With Thy Needle and Thread. The colors and charming house made this one a joy to stitch!

"GLAD TIDINGS"

And in November, I finished "Glad Tidings" by The Drawn Thread. The silk threads I used added such depth to the color in this piece.

So, which one is your favorite? Oh, this is a hard choice for me, I truly love them all! Two are quite whimsical, two are very classic, and the fifth is just plain sweet. However, those darling stocking-capped birds in the Drawn Thread "Glad Tidings" finish have captured my heart so I'll pick that one. Now to get them finished and up on my wall by next Christmas. Wish me luck! You all know I'm a terrible procrastinator when it comes to framing pieces. 

Seven days left until Christmas... I can hardly believe it. I still haven't sent out cards and also have shopping to do. But, because we'll be having a belated Christmas celebration with my grandson in January (he'll be in Texas with his mom's side of the family on Christmas Day), I feel like I have a bit more time on my side. Tomorrow, I will work on my cards and finish decorating my tree. I'm finally getting my energy back after that prolonged virus--almost three weeks of feeling yukky. Thank you all so much for your well wishes in my last post. It sounds like this virus is making the rounds in all parts of the U.S. and I hope it's gone for good soon! Anyway, thank you so very much for stopping by during this busy time of year--I do love hearing from you. Take care now, my friends. I'll be back one last time before Christmas. Bye for now...